iOS 7 Jailbreak: Is iOS 7 Jailbroken Yet Fundraiser Gains Support

A new movement answers the common question, “Is iOS 7 jailbroken yet?” and gains support from well-known individuals who want to see an iOS 7 jailbreak release arrive to bring device freedom for software and to enable better accessibility options for disabled users.

There is already one iOS 7 jailbreak in the works from the Evad3rs, who brought the last iOS jailbreak release to users earlier this year, but a Device Freedom Prize offers some financial motivation for an open source iOS 7 jailbreak release.

The prize is at $1,117 which will act as, “a crowdfunded reward for the first developer(s) who release an open source iOS 7 jailbreak.”

Activists hope a prize will spur a faster iOS 7 jailbreak release.

The project comes with support from Cory Doctorow of Boing Boing and Kyle Wiens of iFixit as well as Biella Coleman and Chris Maury. Doctorow is well known for his books which often raises questions about privacy, device freedom and other issues. In an interview with Willamette Week, he said, “If I had my way, we would teach kids to circumvent every censor wall, to jailbreak every device…” Wiens is well known for device teardowns and rating companies based on the repairability of their hardware.

Maury is currently working on a project with Conversant Labs, a company focused on delivering better tools to the blind community, by bringing design for blind users to the front of the process.

The Device Freedom Prize came about from the desire to provide users with control over their device including the option to install anything they want. Maury describes two reasons an iOS 7 jailbreak release is important to disabled users,

“Two examples of how the disabled can benefit from full control of their devices: those with motor disabilities can change the default gestures to make apps easier to navigate. Those with vision issues can adjusting the hue of the display to reduce eye-strain using apps like f.lux. There are myriad other examples for the long tail of disabilities.”

The latest version of iOS 7 does include a variety of accessibility options without a jailbreak, shown in the videos below, but Maury argues users need an iOS 7 jailbreak to allow all iPhone owners to experience the device to its full potential.

The prize is for an untethered iOS 7 jailbreak that works on iOS 7.0.4 and runs on the iPhone 5s, 5c, 5 and 4s. This is likely the same jailbreak that the Evad3rs are working on and they will very likely release it free of charge, but it’s not clear fi they will apply for this prize. The iOS 7 jailbreak release must come within 18 months or donors to the prize will get a refund.